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1. Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority

4. Revisions/ Updates

Existence of a National Strategy on social inclusion

In relation to the social inclusion of young people in Turkey, National Youth and Sports Policy Document is one of the main reference documents. One of the policy areas in this Document is “Disadvantaged Young People and Social Inclusion”.

Under the "Effective Monitoring, Assessment and Coordination Mechanism Establishment Project for the Roman Strategy Document" (ROMSID), which began its activities in 2020, it was aimed to plan and establish a strategy to meet the needs of education and capacity development in the field of monitoring and evaluation of social inclusion policies, especially the Strategy Document for Roman citizens. The "Strategy Document for Roma Citizens" covering the years of 2023-2030 and the " Phase 1 Action Plan (2023-2025)" prepared for its implementation have been published in the Official Gazette and entered into force. The Strategy Document and action plan, prepared by taking into account the views and suggestions of relevant public institutions and organizations aim to improve living conditions of Roma citizens and raise their living standards. In addition to education, employment, health, housing, social assistance and social services, the new Action Plan also includes the following general policy areas:

• Initiatives to increase social inclusion for young Roma citizens,

• Digital literacy training for parents,

• Support for Roma children and youth in sports and cultural activities,

• Promotion of cultural and artistic activities and increasing access to these events.

Women's Empowerment Strategy Document & Action Plan

With the aim of strengthening women's participation in economic and social life; ensuring that they benefit equally from rights, opportunities and possibilities; reflecting the equality of opportunities between men and women in all main plans and policies, the “Women's Empowerment Strategy Document and Action Plan” covering the years 2018-2023 was prepared and put into effect by the General Directorate of Women's Status of the Ministry of Family and Social Services with the contributions of the relevant parties. The said action plan is an important document for the implementation of the principle of gender equality and the development of policies and measures that enable the elimination of discriminatory practices against women.

"Strategy Document and Action Plan", which is prepared as the first comprehensive action plan to strengthen women in Turkey, is developed in the context of the current situation, the main objective, aims, strategies, activities related to the five key policy axes, which are - education, economy, health, participation in decision-making mechanisms, media. While arranging the purpose, target, strategy and activities in the Action Plan, some "intersecting policy areas" were taken into account as well as 5 basic policy axes.

Some of these cross-cutting policy areas are intended to the youth participation and social inclusion, which are; collaboration with universities, participation of men in the empowerment of women, including boys, and disability.

Strategic Plan of Presidency of Migration Management of the Ministry of Interior

Foreigners and International Protection Law no 6458 which has constituted a migration management structure in Turkey with a comprehensive approach was approved in 2013. On the basis of this law, Presidency of Migration Management of the Ministry of Interior has been founded. This law has been brought about with a view to the fact that Turkey has a destinational character in today’s migration movements and by focusing on humanitarian basis approach respecting the human rights of vulnerable groups in particular and to human rights of all migrants in general.

The harmonization implicated in this law comes up with migrants’ and the society’s reciprocal understanding of each other on a voluntary basis. Foreigners and International Protection Law allows for the undertaking of the works for reciprocal harmonization of foreigners, international protection applicants and beneficiaries. Migrant focused approach and multidimensional and bilateral active interaction are adopted during the development of harmonization strategies. Harmonization activities include the contents listed below:

• Undertaking of the integration activities in order to facilitate foreigners’, international protection applicants’ or beneficiaries’’ integration with society.
• Developing knowledge and skills acquisition for facilitating them to be independently active in all areas of social life without the aid of third persons.
• Organizing basic courses for foreigners on the political structure, language, legal system, culture and history of the country as well as their rights and obligations.
• Carrying out promotion and information activities through organizing courses, distant learning and similar systems with regard to issues such as benefiting from public and private goods and services, access to education and economic activities, social and cultural interaction and receiving basic health services.
• Planning integration activities by benefitting from the suggestions and contributions of public institutions and organizations, local administrations as well as civil society organizations, universities and international organizations.
• Supporting migrants harmonization with the host society without forcing them to renounce their own cultural identities.
• Developing awareness and tolerance environment with regard to integration process in society.

The Strategic Plan covering the years between 2017-2021 has been drawn up within the general perspective of harmonization principle. In the Strategic Plan (2017-2021) 6 strategical goals have been laid down. In the scope of these goals, certain themes have been prioritized and specific measures have been offered. 6 strategical goals are as follows:

• To ensure the efficient and prompt fulfillment of the works and procedures concerning foreigners within the framework of regular migration.
• To constitute a migration management respecting the basic human rights and liberties, complying with international standards, considering the best practices and recent developments in the field of migration management.
• To fulfill all the procedures of those who are in need of protection either individually or collectively by guaranteeing their basic human rights.
• To develop a system of victim protection and of fighting victimization in a victim-focused manner with a view to the international law concerning struggle against human trafficking and victim protection.
• To support the mutual harmonisation of foreigners with the society.
• To found an efficient institutional structure continually improving its managerial and organisational qualities and utilizing its resources in an economical and effective way

Scope and contents

The scope and content of the policy area named "Disadvantaged Young People and Social Inclusion" in the National Youth and Sports Policy Document are as follows:

1. Preventing the exposure of disabled young people to social exclusion.

Targets

• To give support to produce projects relating to the reintegration of disabled young people into society.
• To use mass media in order to increase social awareness towards disabled people and improve the cooperation between educational institutions and nongovernmental organisations.
• To take into consideration disabled individuals in urban planning and regulations and to provide solutions in accordance with their demands and needs.
• To increase the number of activities based on raising awareness of disabled young people about the legal rights they have.
• To provide psycho-social support services to the families of disabled young people by specialists whenever needed.
• To conduct activities for the personal, social and cultural development of disabled young people.
• To train qualified sports experts to undertake sports activities for disabled young people.
• To increase the number of and improve the facilities which can be used for disabled young people if they do not have parents or any other person who can take care of them.

2.  ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Integrating young people who committed crime into society and preventing young people’s inclination towards criminal behaviour.

Targets

• To conduct scientific studies on the reasons of young people’s inclination towards crime.
• To increase work on the determination of young individuals with high criminal potential and on the provision of psycho-social support services according to their needs.
• To provide rehabilitation of environments that may cause criminal tendency in young people.
• To provide effective rehabilitation for young people inclined towards crime.
• To conduct studies in order to enable convicted young people to continue their education after they are released.

3. Providing social integration of young people living in the streets.

Targets

• To encourage studies on young people living in the streets and to support ongoing studies.
• To carry out studies on the social inclusion of young people pushed into living in the streets.
• To produce projects to remove reasons causing young people live in the streets.
• To raise awareness of the families of young people who live or work in the streets.
• To facilitate access of young people living in the streets to educational opportunities.
• To conduct studies on increasing social awareness about young people living in the streets.
• To increase measures providing psychological and social development and harmony and protective measures against inclination towards crime for young people living in the streets.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

4. Taking preventative measures to protect young people from addictive substances and performing studies on the treatment of young addicts.

Targets

• To increase the number and accessibility of rehabilitation and treatment centres for young drug addicts.
• To provide psycho-social services for young drug addicts and their families.
• To have effective control on incentive releases in the social media in the struggle against addiction.
• To increase awareness about drug addiction by means of education provided by experts to families through youth centres.
• To extend and to make more active the centres for the treatment of young drug addicts.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

5.  Increasing the awareness of young people and other parts of the society about disadvantaged individuals and their active participation in social integration processes.

Targets

• To ensure that the necessary education is given to young people and other parts of the society on social gender equality.
• To establish effective cooperation between young people and policy makers during the formation of social inclusion policies.
• To increase the awareness of young people and other parts of the society about the integration of young people who live in orphanages and were raised without the affection of family after they leave orphanages and to provide their active participation in social life.
• To develop rewarding mechanisms for successful disadvantaged young people in the society in order to increase the determination of disadvantaged young people to fight against challenges.

6. Ensuring the social inclusion of young people who have migrated to the city and have social adaptation problems.

Targets

• To meet psycho-social needs of young people having migrated to the city.
• To prioritise the education of young people who are member of families having migrated to the city temporarily and having socio-economic disadvantages.
• To provide services according to the needs of young people who migrated due to natural disasters and who have experienced psychological, social and economic damage.
• To use youth centres effectively to provide the integration of young people who have migrated to the city and to prevent their alienation.
• To take necessary measures to enable young people who could not benefit from educational rights for certain reasons to benefit from vocational and non-formal education opportunities within the framework of the lifelong learning strategy.

7. Preventing young people from being abused.

Targets

• To increase social awareness about the physical and emotional abuse of disabled people.
• To take preventative measures against all kinds of abuse which the young people face in their families and at the workplace.
• To provide psycho-social support services by specialists for abused young people and their families.
• To increase social awareness by means of the media, social media, the internet and educational institutions in order to prevent the abuse of young people.

8. Supporting young women in every area of life.

Targets

• To encourage studies on the problems young women experience.
• To support the production of projects on solving of the problems young women experience.
• To use mass media means and to provide cooperation with educational institutions and nongovernmental organisations in order to create awareness about the problems young women face.
• To take into consideration young women in urban planning and regulations and to provide the generation of solutions according to their demands and needs.
• To increase the number of works based on the awareness of young women about the legal rights they have.
• To conduct work in order to increase the rate of young women’s benefiting from services in educational, health, political areas and of their representation.

The scope and content related to the social inclusion of young people in the 12th Development Plan (2024-2028) are as follows:

• Social inclusion programs for children under international or temporary protection will be expanded.

• Awareness, intercultural interaction, and coping abilities with challenges will be enhanced to minimize the social integration problems of young people under international or temporary protection.

• Within the scope of addiction, the quality and quantity of social integration services will be increased and services will be expanded by making necessary legal regulations to activate post-treatment recovery and follow-up services.

• Efforts will be made to strengthen the social inclusion of young people, especially those requiring special policies by enhancing existing infrastructure of youth camps, youth centers, dormitories and sports facilities and increasing their numbers, as well as seeking more international funding.

• Mobility programs will be expanded and diversified, taking into account the needs and special circumstances of disadvantaged young people.

Responsible authority

The authority responsible for implementing and monitoring the National Youth and Sports Policy Document is the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The authority responsible for monitoring the 12th Development Plan (2024-2028) is Department of Strategy and Budget of the Presidency.

Revisions/Updates

Article 18 of the Decree Law No 638 on Organisation and Duties of the Ministry of Youth and Sports includes the provision; “National Youth and Sports Policy Document is drawn up by the Ministry and submitted for the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers with the purpose of ensuring coordination and cooperation among the public organisations and institutions which carry out the policies and activities affecting the young people directly or indirectly. National Youth and Sports Policy Document is reviewed and revised in every four years at the latest. When revising the National Youth and Sports Policy Document, suggestions of the related public organisations and institutions, sports federations and nongovernmental organisations are taken into consideration”. In accordance with this provision, policy document is updated in every four years at the latest. With the adoption of Presidential System in Turkey, 1 number Presidential decree prescribed the foundation of Ministry of Youth and Sports in legal terms with the same tasks and responsibilities.

Development Plans are drawn up in every 5 years